Youth-led book on social media and mental health highlights a complex mix of harms and supports

Article excerpt

A new book called "SocialsVoice," authored by Latino youth, explores how social media affects their mental health, revealing a more nuanced picture than typical "social media is bad" narratives. Rather than simply cataloging harms, the youth document both the risks they encounter online and the supportive, anti-stigmatizing communities they find there. The project centers perspectives often missing from research: young people navigating multiple languages and cultural contexts, whose experiences with platforms differ from mainstream accounts. By mixing concrete examples with their own voices, the authors argue that social media's impact on mental health isn't uniformly negative, some spaces foster genuine connection and resilience.